my first fe-your first fe

[fryedaddy]

i got my first fe when i was 15.my dad gave me his 63 1/2 galaxy.it had a rebuilt 390 thunder bird engine.i later put it in my 66 comet.great fe.between my dad driving it to work for years,and it was in my comet 8 years. it was raced,run hard too.i gave it to a friend who put it back in a 64 galaxy. it was a very long lasting engine. i have never been without a fe engine from 15 till now 54. what was your first fe?

[blykins]

A 428 that I built for my Cobra replica.  Early Edelbrock heads, Tunnel Wedge intake, solid roller camshaft. 

[GJCAT427]

My first was a 390 I bought for my 56 f100 back in 1970. Motor was a junkyard special that ran well. I traded it for a 428 CJ motor that a judge`s kid had in a Torino even up no less! That when I learned of the balance in the FE family. I went on to aquire my first 427 and haven't looked back. I still have 5 of the 6 427s I`ve acquired over the yrs and a whole passal of 352s,390s and FTs.

[rcodecj]

I think it was a white 4 door galaxie with red vinyl bench seat, nothing fancy but it had AC.
I bought it for in the $30 range because it had a soft plug out and the trans would not shift right.
A friend had a wrecked galaxie that he gave me the trans. I pulled the motor and trans together
because I thought it would be easier to put the soft plug in. In a few hours I had a running car.

Well now I've got to edit because I think I had my black merc before the white galaxie.
It was a 1966 mercury montery, premium fuel 2v 390, automatic.

[TJ]

My first FE is the original 352 that came in my '65 F250.  Bought it in 2004. I'm surprised how FE's accumulate. I now have 2 rebuildable (I think) 352's, a 390 with a big hole in it, and the 427 I'm running now.  It's as if they gather kinda like the Longaberger baskets that my cousin collects.  She has every shelf in her house full of them....nasty habit if you ask me.

[jayb]

I bought my 68 Shelby convertible in 1978.  It had a 428CJ from a 69 Torino installed; at least the third engine in the car.  Up to that point I'd been driving a 67 Mustang with a 289 and C4.  After driving the Shelby during the summer of 1978, I became an FE guy forever; that small block just couldn't compare.  I still have the engine (and the car); it stayed in the car until the mid 1990s, then later it was the 428CJ dyno mule used in my book, and now it resides in my 68 Mustang fastback.  I'm going to hop in and drive it to an appointment in just a few minutes 

[Lenz]

A Granny green '69 LTD more door complete with the required dark green interior and black vinyl top.  390 2v auto, beat the snot out of it, didn't break it.  Car eventually rotted out from under me.

[fe-starliner]

My first FE was in a '66 Fairlane GT that I ordered in Oct. '65.  Springtime yellow/black interior, no options but a 4 speed and radio!  Except for the period from 1972 (when I sold the GT) until 1979 (when I bought a R code '66 Fairlane) I've always had one or more FE powered cars to drive, including 406's, 427's, 428CJ's and even two barrel 352's.

[BruceS]

My first FE exposure was the 352 in my Mom's '58 T-Bird, her daily driver back in the day.  At 15 years old, I tried to change the plugs for her and broke most of them!     Later I had a '67 352 F-100 with oil bath air cleaner and a '67 Mustang GT 390 Toploader.  Oh yeah, there was a '63 Galaxie fastback with a T-10 and 390 PI.  Many 1000s of smiles later I wouldn't think of not having at least one FE around! 

Bruce

[Heo]

Bought my first FE (390) mid 80s in a -66 Fairlane XL.I Was driving a 65 Mustang with 289 and wanted some more power.
Bubba had installed that engine so a lot of work to get it functional

[Clark Coe]

"1968" - '62 Mercury Monterey 4 door HT 390 4bbl FMX. Handled great on gravel roads, low and wide.
"1970" - '68 390GT Mustang fastback 4 speed. Still have this one after 44 years.
"1974" - '65 F250 4X4 352....quickly fitted with fresh 390 (.060" over).
"1975" - '69 428CJ Mach I Mustang.
....plus several FE Galaxies and Torino parts cars.

[unclewill]

427 s.o. block bought for $600 - still have it, garage art right now!

[Barry_R]

I think it was in 1974.  A black with gold C stripes '68 Torino fastback with a 390 and a 4 speed.

[scott foxwell]

The car I learned to drive in. 69 Ranchero with a factory 428 CJ/Ram Air, C6 (had an H Servo from the factory) and 3.89 posi. Bench seat, no power steering.  It was such a sleeper...it was Ivy Yellow with a black vinyl top. GT rims with plain center caps and Dunlop GT qualifiers on the back that got really sticky when you heated them up. Cruiesed Van Nuys Blvd in So Cal back in the late 70's...had many a street race. Lost one.
Now I have this to play with:

[preaction]

Barry was that the car at the reunion this year ?